Grade-marking apparatus



' Nov. l5, 1927.

L. J. GRUBMAN ET AL GRADE MARKING APPARATUs original Filed March 26. 192s 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 15, 1927. 1,649,469

L. J. GRUBMAN ET AL GRADE MARKING APPARATUS Original Filed March 26, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 2A l l l Nov. 15, .1927. 1,649,469

A L. J. GRUBMAN ET Al.

GRADE MARKING APPARATUS original Filed March 26. 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet. 3

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* @@HUHWS a Nov. 15,4927;

L.. J. GRUBMAN ET Al,

GRADE MARKING APPARATUS .original 'Filed March 2e. 192s 5 shams-Sheet;4 4

Nov. 15, 1927.

L. J. GRUBMAN ET AL GRADE MARKING APPARATUS Original Filed March 26. 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 U @will Patented Nov. 15, l1927.y

UNITED STATESv PATENT OFFICE.

Lao J. GRUBMAN, or BELLE/HARBOR, AND EDWIN A. GODLEY, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

GRADE-MARKING APPARATUS.

Original application led March 26, 1923, Serial No. 627,595. Divided and this application filed May 9,

1924. Serial No. 711,973.

tion constitutes a divisionof our pending i application for patent filed March 26,1923, Serial No. 627,595 and is more'particularly designed for the purpose of automatically stamping or marking an indicative grad symbol upon lumber or boards.

It is one of the important objects of the invent-ionto provide a marking mechanism of this character which is under the control. of a lumber grading expert and which is provided wit-h means whereby the proper predetermined symbol may be selectively posi-A tioned to engage Vand leave its imprint or mark upon the board without interruption of the continued movement of the board as it is fed to a planer or other machine.

More specifically, our present improvement contemplates the provision of simple and positively acting A'means engaged and actuated. by a moving board to operate arotatably mounted type or marker or marker carrier and thereby positively -insure the making of a legible impression of the grade symbol upon `the board.

lVith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the improved'automatie grade marking apparatus and in the form, construction and relative arrangement of its several parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the ac` companying drawings andsubsequently incorporated in the subjoined claims.

ln the drawings wherein we h'avedisclosed one practical embodiment of our invention and in whiclrsimilar reference characters designate Corresponding parts throughout the several views: I i

Figure 1 is a side elevation with certain parts broken away of the grade marking mechanism; l

F igure-2 is a top plan view thereof; Figure 3 is a .vertical section taken onthe line 3-8 of Figure l;

Figure V4 is an enlargedk sectional view `taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 5;

Figure -5 is a longitudinal section taken` 55 on theline 5 5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a vertical section taken on the line6--6l of Figure 3;

Figure 7 is a detail view illustrating the' control means for the main shaft clutch of themarking mechanism;- 1 Y Figure Sis a sectional view taken on theline 8-,8 of Figure 7; and, j

Figure 9 is a fragmentary elevation of theV controlmeans. f i

The grade marking mechanism is mountedv upon a ksuitable supporting structure having a board receiving plate or table112. Below. this table the transverse power shaft 13 is suitablymounted and carries one orkmore`70 feeding. wheels 14'which at their upper portions are engaged in suitable openings 15 in the table 12 and are adapted to engage with the underside of the board as it is fed longitudinally over said table'by the rollers, `in 75 order to positivelycontinue the longitudinal movementof the board without interruption f over the surface of the table 12.

In suitable bearings 16' at one end of the table 12,'the ends of a shaft 17 are'journaled. 80 Upon this shaft at its opposite ends the hori' zontally disposed arms 19 of a frame 18 are loosely mounted for rocking movement. At the other ends of said arms, the frame parts have upwardly and downwardly extending'85 -portions and-intermediate of their ends are formed with suitable bearings 20 to receive the opposite endsV of a sleeve 21V through which the main shaft 22 is loosely engaged. To one end of this shaft the gear 23 is fixed, 90 said gearmeshing with a relatively smaller gear 24 en one end of a countershaft 25l which is rotatably supported in the frame arms 19.

Upon the sleeve 21,'a number of wheels 95 26 are loosely mounted for free rotation and are adapted to engage the upper surface of theboard and thus hold the same in close contact with thel peripheral surfaces of the feed rollers 14. Normally, when the board m0 is not engaged' between the rollers 14 land 267 said rollers are inv close relation to each other. The frame 18 is yieldingly sustained by means of the coil springs 27 which are engaged in sockets or recesses 28 and 29 formed in the frame parts and in the opposite edges of the table 12 respectively.

Upon the sleeve 21 spaced gears 30 are 1:oosely mounted. One face of each of these gears is lrecessed to receive the cam member 31 which is keyed to the sleeve 21 for rotation therewith. This face of each gear 30 is also provided with radially extending recesses or channels 32 communicating with the recess in which the cam 31 is positioned.

yA type barr33 is longitudinally movable in each of these channels and is normally pressed inwardlyby means of a coil spring 34 which yieldingly holds the inner end of the type bar in engagement with the periphery of the cam memberl 31. The springs 34 may be convenientlylocmed in the channels 32 within slots 35 formed in the type bars, said springs bearing at one of theirl ends against the inner end walls of the slots and rat their outer ends against the lugs 36 which are formed upon the gear member 30. The movable type bars v33 are retained within the radial channels of the gear member by means of the cover plate 37 which is lined to the face of the gear by suitable screws 38. In the illustrated embodiment the invention we have shown six of the radially movable type bars 33. These bars are provided on their outer end faces with numerals, Vletters or other .disinguishing characters denoting the different grades of lumber. ,ln thepresent instance we may consider these bars as provided with thetype numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, respectivel A pair of spaced arms 39 are also keyed or otherwise lined to the sleeve 21 in the same radial relation to the shaft 22. Rota tion of the sleeve 21 relative to the shaft 22 and consequently the movement of'said arms in one vdirection is resisted by a contractile spring 40 which issuitably connected to a collar 41 which is keyed upon one end of the sleeve. This collar carries a pawl42 which is yieldingly urged outwardly beyond the periphery of the collar by the spring 43 and into engagement with the internal teeth 44 keo of a double'ratchet 45 which is suitably fixed upon the inner side of the gear 23 secured upon the end of the shaft 22. The external teeth 4G .of this ratchet which entend in the same direction as the internal teeth 44, are engaged by a second pawl or dog 47 suitably mounted upon the frame part 18 beneath said ratchet and pressed upwardly into engagementwith the ratchet teeth by the spring 48. A

Below the sleeve 21 the collar 41 is formed with slot 49 in which a bar 50 is movably engaged. The lower end of this bar is pro-v vided with studs 51 and 52 respectively, projecting 'in` opposite directions therefrom, The bar is yieldingly urged inwardly in the slot 49 by means of the leaf spring 53 where V68 and 69 respectively.

by the stud 51 is held position for eiiy also to be noted that the pawl or dog47 is of such width that it not only engages the teeth 46 of the ratchet but is also disposed inthe path of movement of theouter end of the bar and thus acts to limit the turning orrotative movement of the sleeve 21, levers 39 and cams 31 under the contractile action of the spring 40. The other ystud 52 on the bar 50 is adapted for engagement with a cam 55 which is fixed to the frame part 18, the coaction of the stud with said cam projecting the bar 50 outwardly Vfrom the slot 49 in collar 4l so as to position the other studV 51 for engagement by one of the cam lugs 54 as will hereinafter be more fiill'eX- i plained. Each of the arms or levers 39 carries a roller 56 at its outer end with which the boar'rv -is adapted to engage as it is fed through the machine, as will be readily un derstood from reference to vFigure l of the drawings. f

The shaft 13 is driven from Va motor or other convenient power source by tl e drive belt 57'A or otherV equivalent driving connection withone end of'said shaft. The Vothn endr of the shaft 1,3 is connected by a sprocket l and chain drive 58 to one end of the shaft 17. Upon this end of said shaft a gear fixed-and meshes with a 4G0 loosely mounted upon the main shaft 22. This gear 'provided' with a cam lug 68, the opposed face of the clutch member 63 having a similar cam lug 67. These lugs are disposed at the same radial distance from the axis of shaft 22 and having obliquelyfinclined cam faces A coil spring 70 has one of its ends fixed to Vthe clutch member 63 and the other end thereof fixed to the disc 65. This spring by its contractile action vtends to normally hold the clutch member in position on the shaft 22 with its tooth 64 disposed in the path of movement of the tooth 62 of the gear 60 andto also dispose the cam lug 67 of the clutchmember in the same circumferential path as the cam lug 66 on the disc G5. Upon a suitable supporting bracket 71 a casing or housing 72 is mounted. Upon the pivot rod 73 within this housing a plurality of levers 74 are loosely engaged, said levers corresponding innumber to the number of type bars 33 .carried by each of the gears 30. Each lever 74 has an operating finger 75 extending.

outwardly through an opening in onewal of kthe housing 72. Thev inner side ofthe housing which is opposed to the disc 65. may remain open, or ifclosed, the inner'pwall thereof is likewise provided with suitable openings'through which'stop lugs 76 formed upon the upper ends ofthe levers may project. Said leversare urged to vnormal posi-` tion by means of the leaf springs 77.

' Above the series of levers 74 a fixed shaft 78 is mounted in spaced brackets 79 and upon this shaft a sleeve 80 is loosely engaged, the lower side of vsaid sleeve being formed with a longitudinally extending lock- Ying rib 81. One or more springs 82 act to yieldingly resist rotation of the sleeve 80 and to normally hold the locking ribV 81 in Contact with stop pins 83 on the brackets 79. Each lever 74.is additionally provided with an upwardly projecting'lug 84 to coact withv the locking rib 81 in a manner to be subsequently explained. The levers 74 are adapt-v ed to be manually actuated, Vand when pressed inwardly by the application ofthe linger to the part 75, a selected lever may be disposed with itsstop lug 76 located in the I circumferential line of movement of one of the lugs V85 which projects from the` outer face of` the disc 65. These lugs which likewise correspond in number with the number of levers 74 and the type bars 33, aredisposed at relatively different'distances from the axial center of said disc. vIt is of course,

i understood that the lugs'7 6 of the levers are located at relatively different points with respect to the axis of the discso that they will` properly coincide with lthe path of movement of the respective lugs 85.

If'desired, the selective operation of the.

Upon reference to Figure 6.0i the draw-Vr ings,rit will be seen that only oneof the type bars 33 carried by each ofthe gears30 is engaged with the cam face 81LL of the member 31, the reminder of the type-bars .being in projected position with their type bearing facesprojecting slightly beyond the peripheral faces of theloosely mounted rollers 26. Rotation is positively ltransmitted to the gears 30 through the medium of'spaced pin-v ions 91 fixedv upon the countershaft 25. The

type faces of the bars 33 are supplied with.-y

ink from the inkinggrol-lers 92 which are rotatably mountedbetween,theupper ends of the frame members 18 and extendlongitudi- Inthe operationof the grade marking org.

nally aboveth'e rollers26.

stamping mechanism above described, as sunnng that the arms 39 are in their normal positions, as shown in dotted lines in Figure i 4 of the drawings, and stud 51 on the bar- 50 is engaged beneath one of the cam lugs 54 of the ratchet 45 while the other lug 52 i yon said bar is disposed beneath the cam 55. After the observer has noted the grade. of

the'board as it is fed to the machine, he op-j ei'ates the yproper lever 74 or closes the f proper switch so that the stop li1g76 of the lever is positioned inthe pat-h of movef ment ofthe corresponding lug 85 on the disc 65. Upon rotating the power shaft 13. and. y

therebytransmitting rotation through gears 59 and 60and the clutch member 63to .the main shaft 22, the gear 23 is rot-ated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figurel 3 of the drawings,thereby-transmitting rotation tothe countershaft 25 and through the pinionsv 91 rotatingthe gears 30 relative to y the sleeve 21. This sleeve and the collar 41 fitted thereon remain stationary while the v ratchet iiixed t@ the gear 23 rotates with respect thereto. However, since the lstud 52 is engaged'with the outer end ofthe cam 55,

the bar 50 will beretained in its projected position after the cam lug 54 on the rratchet movesv out of engagement with the pin 51..-

'In this rotation of the main shaft 22 and the clutch member 64- thereon, rotation .is also imparted to disc 65 through the medium fof vthe connecting spring 70 between said disc,

and vthe l clutch member.

When the lever 74 was actuated, the lug 84 thereonengaged the rib 81 of the sleeve. 80 and rocked said sleeve against theaction of lthe springs 82 with the locking rib engaged `,behind the lug 84, `thus holding said lever against the action of spring 77 with its stop linger 76 disposed in the path ofmovement ot' one lof the lugs 85.` Thus, when this lug strikesv said stop lfinger, thefdisc 65.A

is held againstfurt'her rotation and the cam face 69 of the lug 67 on the shiftable clutch 68 of the lug v66 onsaid disc operates to move the clutch member 63 axially of the shaft against .the contractile aotionof spring 'member 63 engaging the complementary cam l.

70 anddisengage the tooth 64of said clutch member from the tooth l62 on the gear 60,

thus disconnecting the main shaft from the operating gearing so that the rotation of the gears 30 Acarrying the marking ytype is brought to al stop when the type bar 33 bearing the character corresponding to the lever 74 which wasactuated and denoting the grade of thefboard, is positioned imme-k diatelyy above the board at the rear side of the arm or lever 39, as shown in Figure 6l bearing Contact with the finger 76 of theV lever. Y

Asthe board is fed beneath the rollers 26, the end'of the board strikes the rollers 56 on the lower ends of the arms 39 and moves'said arms from the dotted line position shown in Figure 4 to the full line position. These v arms being-fixed to the sleeve 2l and said sleeve being connected to the ratchet 45 through the medium of the pawl 42, it will be understood that in this movement of said armsthe collar 4l', ratchet 45, gear 23 and the gears 30 all move as a vunit therewith. In this movement of the arms sufficient rotation is imparted to the gears 3Q to causev the previously positioned type bars 33 bearing the proper grade mark Vto limprint or stamp lsaid mark at spaced points on 'the surface of the board at itsvend. As the bar 56 moves with the collar 4l and held in projected position by one of the cam Vlugs 54 on ratchet 45, the outer end of this bar passing behind the upwardly pressed dog 47, as in Figure-4 of thedrawings, holds the arms 39 and the parts actuated thereby against return movement after the board has passed outwardly beyond the rollers 26 and the type carrying gears. l t

The type carrying gears can, however, be

operated independently of the arms 39 torei set the same and dispose another type bar in proper position for printing while theV board still remains beneath the rollers 26. Referring again to Figure 6 of the drawings, it will be noted that when the marking means is actuated -by the board, as above described, the cam faces 3la of the cam mem-A bers 31- are moved; from the'full line' positions to the dotted line positions seen in said figure, or in other words, to a position below the shaft 22. Therefore, it will be apparent that in any further rotation of the gear 30 in the direction indicated by the arrow, the type bars 33 will be successively pressed inwardly against the cam faces 31%1 as the outer ends of said type bars approach the board so that the type faces will not engagewith and imprint their marks on the surface of the board which has already been marked with the pr-oper grade character. Therefore, theobserver may note the grade of a second board being fed over the table 5 while the pre-viousboard is still passing beneath the marking mechanism. If this board is of a different grade, another of the switches 90 is closedl or another lever 74 manually actuated. As the lug 84 of said lever engages the convvex side"V face Slarof 'the rib 8l lon sleeve l80,2"`

it moves said rib upwardly 'above the lug 84 of the lever 74 which was previously spring'77. Thelug 84 onl the second lever':

74 then passes to 'the opposite side ofthe rib 8l permitting offthfe return of sleeve f t-o its normal position whereby this latter lever is locked against return move-ment with its linger 76 positioned in the path of movement of anotherof the Vlugs 8501i disc 65..V

As the disc 65 is thus released from the hold-V ing action of the tinger76 on the lever which was first actuated, the spring 70 by its tortional" `action moves vthe disc l65 relative to `shaft 22and by its contractile action shifts the clutch member 63l on lsaid .shaft to againV engage its tooth 64 with the tooth 62 of the gear 60. It will be understoodfthat'the cain lugs 66 and67 remain in sliding contact with Y each other. Therefore, positive rotation is again Vtransmitted to the shaft22 and` through said shaftto the marker carrying i gears 30, as above explained, to properly p osition another of the type bars carried byA said gears so that the next board fed through the marking-:mechanism willbe marked Awith the proper characters when it engages and aetuates the arms 39, which it will be understood, return to their normal positions assoon as the first' board has passed beyond the markingmechanism. y

Such return movement of the of the marking mechanism, the which' was engaged with the stud gaged therefrom so that bai' 50.*is moved in:r wardly by the spring 53. Thus, Vfafterthe board is'V disengaged from the rollers 56, the

t arms is permitte/d owing to the fact that in the resetting i' cani lug54 'Y 5lis disenspring40 maycontiact to yreturn the arms.'`

to theirnormalposition, it being understood that in such movement, the fsle'eve anidrcollar;

rotate relative to the shaft 22 vivhile the pawl 42 is engaged withfanother of the internal teeth in' the ratchetV 45. seen that the markers maybe selectively positioned so as to imprinty the proper grade mark or character upon the board when a further automatic movement isimparted to the marking mechanism by thefeeding of the hoard therethrough.

lhen the marking mechanism is'reset as above explained, rotation is transmitted to a shaft 196 through the medium of the gears 200, said shaft ope-rating to connect a proper one of a series of odometers with an auto- AThus it `will lbeA matic measuring mechanism iny accordance with the particular grade symbol for which the marking mechanism. i.s reset. Since thisY feature, however, constitutes nopart 'of the present invention'and sfully illustrated and Y described in our original applicationV above identified, it need not beherein further. re-V 130 feired to in detail.

in connection with the accompanying drawings it is believed that the construction, manner of operation and several advantages of our improved marking apparatus will be fully understood. It will be seen that the eX- pert observer or grader may, by simply closing the proper selecting switch or operating the proper lever T, position any predetermined grade symbol so` that when theipoperating means for the rotatable symbol carriage is subsequently engaged,l and actuated by the moving board, the selected symbol will be caused to make a clear and legible impressionron the surface Aof the board yand While'said board is still passing through the marking machine, the mechanism may be reset and another symbol properly positioned in accordance with the different grade of a following board toy be subsequently applied to the latter board. Itv will thus beseen that the marker may be operated with great rapidity. le have referred to our invention as mounted andy arranged for the application of the symbol to one of the said faces of the board, but it will be appreciated that with certain simple modifications it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that the device mighty be arranged for applying the grade indicat-ingsymbol to one edge of the board. Also, it is not essential that the sym-v bol shall be duplicated, and if desired, only single rotatable disc or carrier for the series of type or symbol bars may be provided. ,It is also to be understood that While we have herein specifically described one practical embodiment of the invention, that the mechanism might be exemplied in n'umerousvother constructions, and we, therefore reserve then privilege of adopting all such legitimate changes in the form, proportion and relative arrangement of the several parts as may be fairly embodied within the'spirit and scope of the inventio-n as claimed. v

We claim:

l.; In combination with. lumber feeding mechanism, a manually controlled mecha,- nism located in theli-ne of feed of the boards and automatically actuated by tlie board without interruption of the feeding movement to apply a. grade indicating symbol to thev board.

2l In combination with lumber feeding mechanism, a mechanism located in the line of feed of the boards and including manually controlled means actuated by the board without interruption of its feeding movement for applying any one of a pluralityof grade indicating symbols to the board, and

means for selectively controlling the operation of 'said symbol applying means to ap- .the board when said means is actuated thereby.

v3. In combination with lumber feeding mechanism, a mechanism located in the line of feed and including a plurality vof grade symbol carrying members, means engaged and actuated by the board without interrupting its feeding movement whereby a grade indicating symbol is applied to the surface of the board by each of said members, and manually controllable means for selectively positioningthe symbol carrying members whereby the proper symbol denoting the predetermined grade of the board is applied thereto. Y

` 4;. Inan apparatus of the class described, a plurality of symbol applying elements, manually controllable mechanism for selectively positioning said elements with relation to the path offmovement of an article to which a symbol is to be applied, and means engaged and actuated by the article when the latter is moved to effect an operative move-y ment of the selected element and t-he application of the symbol to the article.`

5. In an apparatus of the class described, a plurality of symbol applying elements, means for imparting an operative movement to said elements including a part engaged and actuated byv a moving article whereby a desired symbol is applied to the article, and manually controllable means to impart a further movement to said elements While said part is engaged by the article to selectivelyposition the symbol applying elements with respect to the path of movement of said article.Y

6; Ina grade marking apparatus for lumber, a plurality of symbol applying elements, manually controllable means for selectively positioning said elements in relation to the path of movement of a board to which a desired grade indicating symbol is to be applied, and additional means actuated by the board in its movement to independently op-V erate parts of said mechanism'and impart an operative movement to the -selected symbol applying element to apply the desired grade indicating symbol to theboard.

7. In combination, a rotatably supported member, a plurality of symbol applying elements carried by said member, means for selectively positioning said elements with respect to an article to which the symbol is to be applied, and means engaged and actuated by the article upon movement thereof to impart a partial rotation to said member and thereby cause the selected element to apply asingle impression of the desired symbol to the article, f

8. In a grade marking apparatus for lumber, a member rotatably mounted above the path of movement of the lumber, radially positioned symbol applying elements carried by said member, manually controllable means to rotate said member land Vselectively position said elements relative to the path of movement of the lumber, and means engaged and actuated by the board for imparting a partial rotation to said member independently of the selecting means to thereby cause the selected element to apply a single impression of the desired symbol to the board.

9. ln a grade marking` apparatus for lumber, a member rotatably mounted above the path of movement of the lumber, radially positioned symbol applying elements carried by said member,v manually controlla-ble means to rotate said member and selectively position said elements relative to the path of movement of the lumber, means engaged and actuated bv the board for imparting a partial rotation to said member independently ofthe selecting means to thereby cause the selected element to apply `the desired symbol to the board, and additional means automatically rendered effective in the last named movement of said member to permit of the operation of the selecting means and the resetting of the symbol applying elements Without operatively engaging the latter With the board.

l0. In a grade marking apparatus for lumber, spaced marking devices operatively mounted above the path of movement of the boards, and manually controlled means engaged .and actuated by a moving board for simultaneously operating said devices to apply a grade indicating symbol at spaced points upon the surface of the board.

1l. In a grade marking apparatus for lumber, a rotatably supported marker carrying member mounted above the path of movement of the boards, spaced radially positioned markers carried by said member, means normally urging said markers inwardly towards the axis of said member,`

manually controllable means for rotating said member to selectively position the markers with respect to the path of movement of the board, additional means engaged and actuated by the moving board to rotate said member independently of the selecting means and thereby engage the selected marker upon the surface of the board to ap-l ply a grade indicating marker thereto, and a cam associated with the markers and automatically positioned in the operation of said last named means to permit of the subsequent resetting of the markers by the operation of the selecting mechanism Without engaging said markers with the surface of the board.

12. In a grade marking apparatus for lumber, a rotatable member mounted above the path of movement of the board and carrying a plurality of grade marking elements, an operating shaft upon which said member is loosely mounted, meanstransmitting rotation from said shaft to said member, manually controllable means for limiting the rotation of said shaft to selectively position the markers With respect to the path of movement of the board, and additional means mounted on the shaft and automatiev cally actuated by the moving board to rotate said shaft independently of said manually controllable means and'thereby impart ro-Y lumber, a marking device having a plurality of spaced marking elements, an operating shaft therefor, a driving gear loosely mounted on the shaft, a clutch member' keyed to the shaft, means acting to normally hold the clutchmember yeldingly in coupled relation with said gear, and manually controllable means automatically act'- ing to disconnect the clutch from said gear and thereby limit the rotation of the shaft to selectively position the markers With respect to the path of movement of the board.

la. In a grade marking apparatus for lumber, a marking device having a plurality of spaced marking elements, an operating shaft therefor, a driving gear loosely mounted on the shaft, a clutch member keyed to the shaft, means acting to normally hold the clutch member'yieldingly in coupled relation With said gear, a vdisc loosely mounted on said shaft, coacting cam lugs on said disc and clutch member, said disc being provided with a plurality of stop lugs spaced for relatively different radial distances from its axis, and a plurality of selectively operable levers adapted to be positioned in the path of movement of the respective stop lugs to .hold the disc against rotation and thereby effect the disconnection of the clutch member from said gear by the coaction of said cam lugs to selectively position the markersV With respect to the path of movement of the board. 1

l5. In a grade marking apparatus-'for lumber, a marking device having a plurality of spaced marking elements, an operating shaft therefor, a driving gear loosely mounted on the shaft, a clutch member keyed to the shaft, means acting to normally hold the clutch member yieldingl-y in coupled relation With said gear, a disc loosely mounted on said shaft, coacting cam lugs on said disc and clutch member, said vdisc being provided With a plurality of stop lugs spaced for relatively differentradial distances from its axis, a plurality ofselectively operable levers adapted to beI positioned in the path of movement of the rerotation and thereby effect the disconnection roo sition the markers with respect to the path of movement of the board, and means automatically operative to preclude the move-V ment of more than one of said levers to effective position in relation to the lugs on said disc.

16. In a grade marking apparatus for lumber, a marking device having a plurality of spaced marking elements, an operating shaft therefor, a driving gear loosely mounted on the shaft, a clutch member keyed to the shaft, means acting to normally hold the clutch member yieldingly in coupled relation with said gear, a disc loosely mounted on said shaft, coacting cam lugs on said disc and clutch member, said disc being provided With a plurality of stop lugs spaced for relatively different radial distances from its axis, a plurality of selectively operable levers adapted to be positioned in the path of movement of the respective stop lugs to hold the disc against rotation and thereby effect the disconnection of the clutch member from said gear by the coaction of said cam lugs to selectively position the markers with respect to the path of movement of the board, and locking means automatically actuated in the movement of each lever to effective position, said locking means When actuated simultaneously releasing a formerly operated lever to permit the latter to return to its normal position.

17. In combination with a lumber feeding mechanism, a mechanism located in the line of feed of the board and actuated by the -bol can be fed by the board to be applied to the succeeding board.

19. In combination with a lumber feeding mechanism, a mechanism located in the line of feed and including a plurality of grade symbol carrying members, means engaged and actuated by the board Without interrupting its feeding movement, whereby the grade indicating symbol is applied to the surface of the board by each of said members, manually controlled means for selec- Atively positioning the symbol carryingmembers, whereby the proper symbol denoting the predetermined grade of the board is ap plied thereto, means whereby a symbol can be fed by the board to be applied to the succeeding board.

In testimony that We claim the foregoing as our invention, We have signed our names hereto.

LEO J. GRUBMAN. EDWIN A. GODLEY.

and manually controlled 

